Scan the QR code to watch a video of our dental visit at Vista Medical Clinic!
Earlier this year, the dentist looked into my then 5-year-old’s mouth and proclaimed that he had two cavities. He spent nearly an hour on the chair that day, getting them filled. He was great about it, only occasionally lamenting the discomfort and lengthy time. Since then, however, my husband and I have doubled down on our efforts to improve his oral hygiene so that when we returned to the dentist six months later, there would only be good news.
Before that, the mistake we had made was trusting our child to brush his own teeth, which we had allowed him to do since around the age of 4. At the time, it seemed like such a blessing to be able to say, “Go brush your teeth” after dinner and buy ourselves a few precious minutes of kid-free quiet. But as we later found out, there was a price to pay for those minutes, down the road, at the dentist. It turns out that my kid had not been brushing his teeth well, or even at all sometimes! But how could we renege on a childhood milestone and go back to having us brush his teeth?! That’s when my best friend turned me on to a little secret – Chompers.
Chompers is a two-minute podcast dedicated to helping kids brush their teeth better. How? Well, first, that two-minute length is no accident. It reflects the amount of time dentists recommend brushing teeth. Secondly, in between spewing fun facts or a catchy song about healthy snacks, the podcast reminds kids to “switch your brushing to the other side, and don’t forget your molars in the way back!” Every night since we started Chompers, I say a little prayer to its creators, because it spares me having to nag my kid or worse, brush his teeth for him. You can find the podcast on Spotify.
The other lesson we learned the hard way was to – and you’re not going to like this – floss. There’s just no way around it! Flossing my kid’s teeth every night is definitely how we managed to walk away unscathed from the dentist this month, when we returned for our second visit this year and received the “All clear” from the kid-friendly dentist at Vista Clinic. She threw in a little gift for good measure (guess what it was), and also recapped how to properly brush your teeth (key takeaway was “brush in little circles near the gums”).
I know of plenty of parents who have so much trouble getting their kids to the dentist, so I have a few suggestions to share that might help pave the way.
Give the kid some space
When we first arrived at the dentist, we were just about on time, but my son wasn’t quite ready to go in to the clinic. Instead of doing my usual stern voice (we’re trying to teach him the power of punctuality) and say “There’s nothing to be scared of!” I took a step back and told him we would wait until he was ready. He had to pull out his latest stuffed toy and introduce it to the dentists before he was ready to climb in the chair, but eventually, he got there all on his own.
Autonomy
I try to give my kid plenty of heads up when it’s almost that time of the year to go to the dentist. I ask him when he would like the appointment because he likes to choose specific days for specific activities (like Wednesday for Chinese class). He chose Monday, and we counted down to the day as something to look forward to! I also chose an 11am appointment so we wouldn’t have to rush in the morning, which makes us all stressed, but is early enough in the day so there’s still time to do something fun afterwards.
Positive vibes
Having a fun activity planned after the dental visit is a great way to encourage positive associations. Vista Clinic is right next to Adventure Zone in Kerry Center so that’s always been my kid’s go-to “reward” after a dentist visit (we don’t use that word but the idea is there). But even sharing a nice meal together or going to a museum can create positive associations with the dentist.
Hopefully, this article will help remove some obstacles in your path to the dentist the next time around, or at the very least, remind you that it’s probably about time to go see the dentist, again.
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Images: Courtesy of Gimlet Media, Vivienne Tseng-Rush
